For a study, the researchers sought to determine if single-cell and plasma proteomic aspects of the host’s immune response to surgery could adequately identify individuals who developed a surgical site complication (SSC) after major abdominal surgery. SSCs could occur in up to 25% of individuals who have their bowels removed, causing severe morbidity and financial costs. The reliable prediction of SSCs, on the other hand, remains a clinical challenge. A promising strategy to identifying predicting biological determinants of SSCs was to use high-content proteomic technology to extensively analyze patients’ immunological responses following surgery. A total of 41 patients receiving non-cancer bowel resection have participated in the study. Single-cell mass cytometry and plasma proteomics were used to examine blood samples collected before surgery and postoperative day one (POD1). Within 30 days of surgery, the key outcome was the incidence of an SSC, which included surgical site infection, anastomotic leak, or wound dehiscence. Patients with (n=11) and without (n=30) an SSC were accurately discriminated using a multi-omic model incorporating single-cell and plasma proteomic data collected on POD1 [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.86]. Coregulated proinflammatory (e.g., IL-6 and MyD88 signaling responses in myeloid cells) and immunosuppressive (e.g., JAK/STAT signaling responses in M-MDSCs and Tregs) events before an SSC were among the model’s properties. Importantly, the study of immunological data collected before surgery resulted in a model that successfully predicted SSCs (AUC=0.82). The multi-omic study of individuals’ immune responses after surgery and their immunological states before surgery revealed systemic immune signatures that occurred before SSCs developed. The results imply that incorporating immunological data into perioperative risk assessment models could be viable for guiding personalized therapeutic care.
